Curious about using Grammarly or wondering, “Is Grammarly safe?” No worries, we’re here to guide you.
When it comes to enhancing your writing, Grammarly stands as the ultimate grammar app for writers across the globe. With more than 30 million daily active users and 400 kinds of checks and features designed to help you improve your writing, it has also been highlighted by reputable publications such as TIME Magazine, Forbes, and The New York Times.
So, are you among the many students and professionals turning to Grammarly for improving your writing? If so, you may often question “Is Grammarly safe?”, “Do Grammarly cookies or servers save your data?” or “Does it sell your personal data?”
There’s no denying that the Grammarly app helps refine your writing as you type, but here’s the thing – can you trust it to handle your words safely and keep your privacy intact?
You’re not alone; we’ve pondered the same. Grammarly, a widely popular spelling and grammar checker, might not be as safe as you think. There’s absolutely some truth behind Grammarly’s privacy concerns. So, let’s take a peek behind the scenes of this grammar checker to understand how we can ensure our content’s security remains intact.
Is Grammarly safe to use?
Grammarly, the virtual grammar guru, is more than a tool—it’s your writing ally. As an online grammar checker and proofreading tool, it detects spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure flaws. It’s not just about fixes; it’s about enhancing clarity, cohesion, fluency, and vocabulary in real-time. With AI algorithms at its core, its features, accessibility, user-friendliness, and accuracy have crowned it the go-to choice for writers.
But like any other online service, Grammarly also has security considerations. People often wonder, is Grammarly trustworthy, or is it safe to allow Grammarly full access, when it comes to content security?
Nevertheless, it’s important to keep an eye on the Grammarly app’s security measures and privacy policy. After all, many of us use it for various content, including sensitive stuff, and data safety matters.
According to Grammarly’s privacy policy, it collects standard info like log data, location, cookies, and usage information. This helps enhance and personalize the user experience while offering services like proofreading.
Read more: Data Privacy – Everyone’s Concern in this Era
Also, it’s mentioned in their privacy policy that data can be further used for their business needs, like sending marketing emails, improving the tool, and sharing with third parties for things like security, legal requirements, or business changes.
This perfectly answers our question – Is Grammarly safe?
Was there a security breach?
Indeed, in 2018, a security glitch came to light affecting Grammarly’s browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. This flaw revolved around authentication tokens, a kind of personal passcode and user information. Shockingly, around 22 million accounts were exposed to potential hacking. This vulnerability meant that any website a Grammarly user visited could access their authentication tokens and log into their accounts without their knowledge.
However, the issue was swiftly resolved within days of its discovery. Thankfully, no user data was compromised during this incident. It did, however, prompt Grammarly’s developers to up their security game. They initiated regular updates to bolster the app and its browser extensions, ensuring a safer experience for all users.
Is it safe to allow Grammarly full access?
Grammarly takes a two-step approach to storing your information. First, it stores data locally on your device, and then it syncs this data with its cloud servers based in the US.
The company assures users that it employs industry-standard encryption and makes efforts to safeguard user data. However, it’s important to note that while they strive to protect your information, they can’t guarantee absolute safety, especially during internet transmissions. In their own words:
“We cannot ensure the security of Information you transmit to us, including Personal Data and User Content; accordingly, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk.”
So, is using Grammarly safe?
The enthusiastic support of countless satisfied users certainly suggests so, as many find it beneficial and trustworthy.
Nonetheless, it’s crucial to be aware of this grammar checker’s limitations. While Grammarly’s efforts to protect data are notable, users must also play their part in maintaining security. It’s worth considering that, when signing up, users willingly provide payment info (for premium users) and contact details. This emphasizes the need for users to ensure the security of all devices used to access Grammarly.
In this digital partnership, both Grammarly’s safeguards and users’ vigilance come into play.
Do Grammarly cookies save what you type?
As you use Grammarly, you might wonder if it’s saving everything you type – after all, it’s offering suggestions and corrections. Could your words, including private and confidential info, be at risk?
Here’s the scoop: Your text goes through Grammarly’s algorithms. These algorithms are on the hunt for grammar mishaps, spelling blunders, punctuation glitches, style mix-ups, and clarity issues. Grammarly is constantly refining its skills and uses the text you type as practice, aiming to sharpen its suggestions. This analysis helps make suggestions better, but it’s sparked privacy discussions as well.
Read more: How to become a master of your information privacy
Whether you’re using the browser, desktop, or mobile app, Grammarly retains some of your text on its servers. Why? To offer grammar and spelling tips, of course. However, according to the US-based company, it doesn’t save all of the text you type—only the text you have actively written in a document or an email (i.e. Grammarly does not retain text that you have copied and pasted, or text that you have deleted).
Rest easy, though—Grammarly assures that your words stay safe and private within its ecosystem. And if you decide to part ways and cancel your account, the platform will delete your content from its servers within 30 days.
Does Grammarly collect personal data?
Grammarly collects your email address, name, and phone number to provide a tailored experience, especially when sending emails, such as special offers. You have the right to opt-out at any point.
Additionally, if you’re using their premium services, Grammarly will collect your payment information. This is standard for any online service involving commercial transactions. When you pay for Grammarly Premium, PayPal’s privacy policy comes into play.
Grammarly won’t steal your passwords or get you hacked. As mentioned above, the proofreading service is blocked from accessing your type in sensitive fields. You can safely enter your passwords on any website without the desktop app, mobile app, or extension prying.
Rest assured, Grammarly’s got your back when it comes to sensitive information. It won’t be sneaking into your passwords, email addresses, or credit card details. The folks behind it are smart – they’ve even made sure that Grammarly’s spell check won’t pry into certain single-line text fields, like those for emails and credit cards.
In a nutshell, Grammarly takes your data seriously. They’ve built layers of security to keep it safe and sound. Worried about your data ending up in the wrong hands? Just think about the millions of writers, marketers, and editors who rely on Grammarly every day. They trust it with their life’s work, and you can too. Your data stays yours, backed by Grammarly’s commitment to respect and safeguard your information.
How to keep a Grammarly account secure?
In addition to Grammarly’s safeguards, here are a few extra steps you can take to keep your personal content safe and private:
1. Use strong passwords
Ensure your Grammarly account is protected with a strong, unique password. This makes it harder for unauthorized access.
2. Enable two-factor authentication
Grammarly offers two-factor authentication, enabling it to add an extra layer of security.
3. Review sharing settings
Regularly review your sharing settings within Grammarly. Make sure you only allow access to known devices and platforms.
4. Review third-party services
Grammarly collaborates with third-party service providers to support its operations. Take time to familiarize yourself with these partners and their data-handling practices to ensure your information remains secure throughout the service chain.
5. Use a VPN for enhanced security
Employing a reputable VPN such as PureVPN establishes a secure and encrypted connection between your device and the internet. This safeguards your data against unauthorized access. Additionally, PureVPN enables you to overcome geographical restrictions, ensuring access to Grammarly from any location.
Read more: How Secure is a VPN – 3 Factors to Consider
6. Regularly check for updates
Keep your operating system, browsers, and antivirus software up to date. Also, ensure you’re using the latest version of Grammarly’s browser extension or application. Updates usually include security enhancements that protect against potential vulnerabilities.
And with that, our blog journey of answering is Grammarly safe, comes to an end. For a more in-depth understanding of online security measures and digital privacy concerns, stay tuned to the PureVPN Blog section.
